Hello Stranger

[Lise]

Story Title: Hello Stranger

Type of story: One-shot

Main Characters: Drew and Belle

BTTB rating: G

Genre: It's not really Drama so I'll just put General

Does story include spoilers: No

Any warnings: No

Summary: Ten years after parting on strained terms two old flames bump into each other unexpectedly.

Thank you, thank you, thank you to jenlee for proof reading this for me. You're awesome!

This is very different to the other fic that I wrote so hopefully it's as well received as the other one. In saying that, any constructive criticism is very welcome.

“Excuse me,” he asked.

“Yes, can I help you?” she answered, instantly recognising his face.

“I’m looking for an old friend, thought you might be able to help?” he enquired.

“What would this old friends name be?” she asked, wondering why he hadn’t done the same and recognised her. Had she changed that much?.

“Belle Taylor,” he said.

“And your name is?”

“Drew, Drew Curtis.”

“Well, Drew, I might be able to point you in the right direction but only if you tell me about yourself first.”

He didn’t know what but there was something very familiar about her so he decided to answer her question, somewhat tentatively. He wasn’t in the business of telling a complete stranger about his life.

“Ok, I’m 28, married with two children, Dan, four and Kate, two. I run my own mechanic shop in the city.”

After a short, awkward silence he added “And since I just told a complete stranger about myself, maybe you could do the same?” as they watched what he presumed were her children playing on the beach happily.

“Well, I too am 28, married - happily, I might add with three children – Will, five and the twins Sophie and Chloe, three and I run a photography shop just down the road,” she said pointing in the general direction of the shop.

“That’s a lovely story but...” he said before he got interrupted.

“Belle,” a voice yelled from a distance.

Drew turned and looked her.

She shrugged her shoulders and said “Hello stranger.”

~

Belle had to run off to work after their initial meeting but she and Drew had agreed on a catch up later that night. She walked into the diner to find him already seated. Was he really the same Drew she once knew? He was never on time to anything.

“Hi,” she said in a friendly manner as she sat down.

“Hi,” he replied.

“Do you want to order?” she enquired, playing with the menu.

“Yeah, why not.”

Once they had ordered they continued talking. They did have a lot to catch up on.

“So, you own a mechanic shop?” she asked, dressed casually in skinny black jeans, a plain green long sleeved top and a pair of simple flats. It had taken her far too long to decide what to wear to dinner with her ex-boyfriend. Her decision on dress code turned to be the right decision as Drew had turned up in jeans and a t-shirt. No, he hadn’t changed, she thought to herself.

“Yeah, it’s going well. It’s good being my own boss.”

“You never did like other people telling you what do,” she said cheekily.

He laughed. “Sounds very familiar if I remember correctly.”

“Hey, no picking on me, ok?” she said as she threw her hands in the air surrendering.

“Sure, whatever you want,” he said. “I see nothing changes around here,” he added, looking at Colleen who was chatting to a couple of her bowls buddies.

“No, I don’t suppose it does.”

By now their food had arrived and talk had inevitably turned to their personal lives.

“I never thought I’d see you married to him,” Drew remarked.

“Neither did I but some things do change, Drew.”

“So, Mattie tells me and hey, I’m not here to criticise your life choices, ok,” she smiled at him. “Your kids look just like him, you know?”

“Yeah, I know. They have his baby blues,” Belle remarked with a slight smile on her face. He could see that look in her eyes when she talked about him, he could never remember her having that glint when they were together and he was pretty sure it wasn’t just time eroding his memory.

While her children really did have their father’s eyes they also bore a striking resemblance to her and also shared their parent’s stubbornness.

“Do you have a photo of your children?” she asked so Drew dragged out a photo them. “Dan looks like his grandfather” she remarked. “Only with your curly hair. They are both beautiful. You must be proud.”

“Yes, I am very proud of both of them.”

“So, what are you here for?" she asked after a short silence as she sipped on her orange juice.

“Dunno. It’s just been so long since I was last here that it just felt like the right time to come back.”

It was at this time that the waitress bought out the chocolate cake and coffee. Drew raised an eyebrow and said “Still a chocolate and coffee fiend, I see?”

“Always,” she replied with a hint of humour.

~

Nothing would ever happen between them, they had both moved on too much for that to ever happen, they both knew that and it would probably be another ten years before they accidentally bumped into each other. Although, they both had this feeling that sometimes it’s good to have a blast from the past even if it is just to find out that the more things change, the more they stay the same.

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